On 10 July 2013 the Upper House of the Russian Parliament approved Law "On some measures of state support for certain categories of producers of motor vehicles, their assembly components and aggregates", and forwarded it for final approval to the President of the Russian Federation, Mr Vladimir Putin.

This law forms a part of the action plan targeting the adaptation of certain sectors of the Russian economy after its accession to the World Trade Organisation. The law stipulates that manufacturers (domestic and foreign) of cars and car components, operating in industrial assembly regime, will receive state support.

This state initiative is concretely motivated by the fact that from 1 July 2018 Russia will have to cancel the lowest tariffs for auto components that automakers import into the country, which they subsequently use in the car assembly process in their plants. However, a number of investment agreements were concluded for a period up to 2020.

Therefore, in order automakers not to incur losses in the time period 2018-2020, they will be provided with state support in the form of fiscal subsidies or "other forms foreseen by the legislation of the Russian Federation."

While foreign investors can benefit from these subsidies along with domestic producers, manufacturers that import cars and car components in Russia are disadvantaged.